I have never know where the fork and knife are supposed to go. I have been told this information many times but I have never known it. I have never owned that bit of information because it never seemed to me to be essential.
Sure, the manners required for eating with others are a valuable asset and being able to help around the house with setting the table (especially when I am not capable of cooking mix more than french toast) is nothing to malign. I just prefer the ambiguity of a napkin on the wrong side. I prefer to remix the table setting so as to make sure that we are having an entirely original meal.
So, set the table any way you like. I will see to the music.
For me, this is the only kind of prerequisite for a perfect meal: thoughtful food, my family or close friends, and ambient but purposeful music.
If you are so inclined, I recommend Ratatat’s self titled album, Safe Away by Denison Witmer or anything by Miles Davis.
I lift m glass to wrongly placed utensils and perfectly placed music and people.
I like that setting the table is akin to picking out clothes in my mind. I could select an outfit designed for maximum comfort or an outfit designed to impress. When I’m with my family, my socks will oftentimes be mismatched and my hair will literally and figuratively be the last thing on my mind.
This is how I set the table. Who’s coming? What’s my relationship to the person?
I engage the rules on an as-needed basis.
Sometimes, though, I’ll fancy it up for no real purpose. Just the same as dressing up for no real reason, setting a table with the water glasses and bread plates all in “proper” order gives me a feeling of playing dress up that tickles my make believe.
I have always wondered why, for no reason, I start putting ties on the table
around my plates.
Also this: http://mowillemsdoodles.blogspot.com/2010/03/gift-of-doodles.html